The home of photojournalism

The Bronx Documentary Center set to launch with Tim Hetherington exhibition

20 Oct 11

Located in a recently-revitalised building in the South Bronx, the BDC will develop a series of exhibitions and educational programs to help connect international events to the lives of Bronx residents of all ages. Founded this year by Michael Kamber and Danielle Jackson, the BDC will be an engaging environment for local and international photojournalists, artists, filmmakers, critics and educators committed to innovative methods of storytelling.The inaugural exhibtion of the BDC, Visions: Tim Hetherington, will feature his work from Libya, exhibited for the first time.

“They’re parading around imitating something they saw in a war movie,” Hetherington said of Libyan rebel forces after his return from an assignment there in March 2011. He saw the same dynamics in Libya that he had documented embedded amongst young American troops in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.

Paying his own way back to Libya, armed with a medium format film camera and a small video camera, Tim returned to the city of Benghazi to photograph what he termed the “Theater of War”—the performance and creation of masculinity that so intrigued him.

Catching a ferry into the besieged Libyan city of Misurata, Tim switched focus and began photographing the house-to-house combat and bloodied victims of Qaddafi’s forces’ artillery barrages. In over 60 rolls of film, Tim created a gripping record of Libya’s revolution before the artillery barrages he documented felled him.

In keeping with the spirit of Tim’s tireless efforts to reach as many people as possible, the BDC brings his work to the Bronx to reach those who may not have the opportunity to travel to galleries and museums in other parts of the city. Organised by close friend and multimedia war journalist Michael Kamber and former Magnum Photos Exhibition Organizer Danielle Jackson, Visions: Tim Hetherington will bring this vital work to underserved audiences. The exhibition includes 16 color photographs and video installations shown for the first time. It also features two original interactive pieces for visitors to expand their understanding of Hetherington’s work, philosophy and travels, including an interactive timeline tracing Tim’s journey through Misurata in his final days.Visions: Tim Hetherington22 October – 2 December 2011